One Glance
by trinsaxx
Summary: The first time she saw him it was only for one glance. Each day from then it was one glance. Only one glance. Slowly she grew to love those eyes and that smile which she saw with that one glance. When he wasn't there, she missed him, and when he came back, she knew she loved him. Modern AU. Oneshot. Leyna, minor Jeyna and Jasper. (Cover art:dreamsoffools)


One Glance

 **A/N This is my first time writing fanfiction, so it isn't very good; I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Reviews would be greatly appreciated, I welcome constructive criticism.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story.**

* * *

The first time she saw him it was for but a fleeting second.

* * *

She had been sitting in the café, sipping a cup of hot chocolate while enjoying the latest volume of her favourite series. The steam from the cup tickling her face, she turned the page, her eyes hungrily devouring the words on the page – so engrossed in the story that the cup she had raised to her lips for another gulp of warm chocolate hovered, forgotten only a few inches from her face.

This particular café was her favourite place to just sit and relax after a gruelling day of classes, and she especially loved this time of day because it was so quiet, and there were few other customers. Her visits were so frequent by now that the barista whose shift was at her frequented time knew her by name, and they were good friends. Jason would often laughat her when she read, for it was common for her to get so enveloped in the story that she would completely forget about everything around her. He would say that he enjoyed watching her face as she read, because it was always so different, and you could always see exactly what she was feeling. When she heard this, she would blush, and her heart would do a little flutter in her chest, making her feel strangely warm.

After a while she noticed that occurrences such as these were becoming more common whenever she was with Jason: her heart would jump a little when he laughed, it would do a little dance when he complimented her, and it would thunder when he casually brushed his hand against hers or touched her arm.

It didn't it take long for her to figure out why this was happening. She had feelings for Jason, now her best friend.

She did her best to hide it, but secretly, she hoped that he too shared her feelings.

That day as well, he stood by the register, leaning on the counter, his hand resting on his chin. Before she had reached the part of her book that had her at the edge of her seat, she had spent a few minutes admiring him. The way his golden hair was so perfectly cut and styled, the way his eyes drooped a little out of boredom and tiredness, the small scar on his lip that he had once confessed – much to her amusement – he had received when he tried to eat a stapler as a child. He had smiled sheepishly at her, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously as she laughed at him, making her heart do a little jig.

Suddenly, she was yanked from her peaceful reverie by the sound of a bell, jangling cheerfully as the door to the café swung open. Returning to the pages of her book, she found herself wondering who would visit this small café at such a time, when near to no one ever came. Without meaning to, she found herself peering over the top of her book towards the counter, inexplicably interested in whom it would be standing there. To her surprise, it was a person who she wouldn't have pegged as the type to visit such a small café, so tucked away in a small street.

It was a scrawny looking boy – about her age – wearing muddy jeans, and a scruffy aviator jacket, covered in what looked like grease stains. His hair was dark - like chocolate – and curly, completely messy, as if he couldn't be bothered. Just from his back, she could already tell that he was trouble, just by the way he carried himself – like someone confident and full of tricks. He was exactly the type of guy she would hate. She heard him order a plain black coffee, and as he did so, he drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter, his whole body jittery and jumpy. As if he hasn't had enough caffeine already.

While Jason walked off to prepare his drink, for only a fleeting second, he turned and looked at her. In that second, their eyes met, and her heart skipped a beat. He had given her a lopsided grin, that reflected the mischievous glint in his coffee coloured eyes. However, while they were filled with laughter and sparkled with trouble, they held a deep sorrow in them as well, masked by all the excited energy. It had only been a moment – a second – but it had felt to her like an eternity. The sadness in his eyes took her breath away, and she felt like he was melting into them.

She saw now, that he was latino, and had features that made him look surprisingly like an elf. Her eyes also caught the further stains of oil and grease of his grimy white shirt and caramel hands. She had to admit, he was cute, in that sort of scrawny, jokey type way; but he still had that air of trouble, which she would prefer to avoid.

* * *

From that day onwards, her peace was shattered every day at that same time by the scrawny latino elf entering the door. Each time, she would read her book, and glance up once, meeting his eyes filled with that excited trouble and hidden sadness accompanied with that lopsided grin.

Once. That was it. Each time, she would look up and meet his eyes and smile once. Each time it would make her heart jump. Each time, she would find herselfanticipating that moment, and paying attention to his movements after it happened.

After a while she had deduced that he probably had ADHD from his jittery, erratic movements, and the fact that he constantly had to be doing something. Although, she only ever looked at him for a second each time, firmly gluing her eyes to her book afterwards until he had left, she had heard him bouncing on the balls of his feet and tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited for the drink. She had gotten used to that constant soft tapping as she read, missing the sound after he left.

Over time, she also observed that he appeared to be making friends with Jason. As time went by, they would exchange a few words, then a few sentences, then a few more. Every time he visited, the time he stayed after receiving his coffee grew longer by a few seconds, talking with Jason. She never listened to their conversations; that would be rude. Instead, she focused of the calming sound of his fingers rhythmically tapping the countertop.

* * *

It had become ritual for her. Sit and read her book, sipping hot chocolate; listen to the bell of the door as it swept open; wait as he ordered his plain black coffee with that voice that was always tinged with mischief; then glance up once as he waited, meeting his gaze for a heartbeat, her breath catching in her throat; return her stare to the words of her book and keep them there until she heard the melodic jangle of the bell once more. Never more than one glance.

She had been teased by Jason for it, blushing fiercely when he had mimicked the guy's grin, not just out of embarrassment, but because he looked so cute with such a wide smile on his face; she had rarely seen that, even though they would often laugh together. With a sudden surge, she realised, that with him coming every day, and her mind occupied with their routine glance, she had been thinking about Jason and her feelings for him less. However, now, they all came flooding back to her in a huge tidal wave that almost knocked her off her feet. All the feelings, all the secret looks, all the emotions that made her chest feel like it wanted to burst, all the like flutters of her heart. The little dances and flutters her heart would do that would fill her chest with warmth; so unlike the jolting jump her heart would make every time her eyes met his.

* * *

One day, a few months after that first day her eyes had met his, after he had left, Jason approached her in her seat. He lightly touched her shoulder to get her attention and startled, she jumped, jerking her head up, to smack right into Jason's jaw. "Ouch!" He cried out in pain, holding his jaw, face twisted in pain as he clenched his teeth. "Oh my goodness! Jason! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to… I didn't…" He laughed, a perfect, clear sound, that calmed her frantic heart, while at the same time making it do a flamenco. "No worries, it doesn't hurt that bad. I'm just glad you weren't holding a drink when I did that, otherwise it would have gone everywhere." He joked. "Yeah." She agreed shakily, with a small laugh for good measure. He was so perfect; not even complaining when he was obviously in pain, and even making a joke to make her feel better.

"So, um, what did you need?" She asked tentatively after a few moments of awkward silence. "What? Oh, yeah." He grinned, seeming excited about something. "Are you free on Saturday this weekend?" _What did he say? Am I free? Is he asking me out? Is it maybe…a date? No, no, it can't be…can it?_ As these hopeful thoughts careened about her mind, she noticed Jason was still watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer. With a hammering heart, and a hot flush on her cheeks, she cleared her throat, taking a deep breath she uttered a single word, "Yes."

"Great!" A wide, happy smile split his face, mixed with a little bit of relief; _maybe he was asking me out, and is now relieved that I accepted?_ The optimistic thought wormed its way into her brain, but she tried her best to dismiss it, convince herself it was something else so as not to get her hopes up. She nodded and smiled at him, and with one final grin, he returned to the counter.

That day, she spent the rest of her time at the café pretending to read her book while sneaking careful looks at Jason, and debating whether he had asked her out or not.

* * *

When Saturday arrived, she woke up extra early, hardly having slept at all from nerves and overthinking the night before. Shooting out of bed, she took a shower and got dressed – putting on her best purple dress and small heels, even attempting to apply a small amount of makeup: a little mascara, eyeshadow and lipstick.

At one in the afternoon, after simply sitting at her kitchen table, too nervous to do anything, for five hours, she checked her phone for the details of the place and time Jason had sent her for the hundredth time – even though she already had them memorized. '13:30, The Rose Garden Café, Elm Street.'

Hurriedly, she rushed out of her house, her heart pounding like a drum as she boarded the bus to the Rose Garden Café. The ride was quite long – twenty-five minutes – however, to her, with all the nerves and worry crowding her mind, it seemed like only a minute. She stepped off the bus in a daze, her heart about to explode. Without thinking, her feet carried her along the street swiftly, arriving at the sky blue door of the café within minutes.

Taking a deep breath, she checked her watch to see that she was still on time, she pushed the door of The Rose Garden open. It swung open smoothly, a beep coming from the electronic device above the door. With a pang, she realised that she missed the joyful jangle of the bell at her café, when he… _No, right now, I need to focus on Jason._

Stepping inside, the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled her nose, and she took a deep breath, inhaling the delectable scent. The café was quite small, but still larger that her usual place, with quite a gentle ambiance, that welcomed you, but was a little cold at the same time. She missed the soft armchairs of her café; here, there were hard, wooden chairs at wooden tables. It was beautiful, but it just wasn't her café, where he… _No!_ Carefully, she surveyed the place, her eyes sweeping the room for a perfectly cut head of golden blond hair. After a few seconds of searching, she spotted it, and her heart leapt in anticipation. She started walking towards his table at a fast pace. _This is it. This is finally it._

"Hi." She said, amazed her voice came out even and normal sounding. He looked up from his phone, where he had been texting someone. "Oh, hey." He smiled and gestured for her to sit down. Smiling back, she sat herself down in the chair opposite his, staring at the wooden table top – refusing to meet his eyes. "So…" She started after he had made no attempt to start a conversation. "So, um, if you could just wait a few minutes, they'll be here soon." He replied, distracted, glancing at his phone nervously.

They. The word rang out in her brain, echoing around her mind. She felt her heart sink; _so this wasn't a date after all_. _I was an idiot to get my hopes up._ However, once she got over the initial shock, she began to wonder, confusion taking over: who was coming?

Once again training her eyes on the dark wood of the table, she blinked, trying to hold tears back. One part of her was saying, _Don't give up, he might still like you. He hasn't rejected you outright._ Another part was saying, _How could you be so stupid, of course this wasn't a date._ Her inner battle was suddenly interrupted when she heard the scraping of Jason's chair against the floor and he stood up.

She looked up from the table and followed Jason's gaze, to see the people whom he was waving at so enthusiastically. Her heart plummeted further – so far she thought it could never go further. It was two people; one, was the most beautiful she had ever laid eyes on. She had choppily cut cinnamon coloured hair, braided with feathers, her face was radiant, even though she wore no makeup; her eyes were mesmerising, shifting colours between brown, blue, green, amber and more like a kaleidoscope, and they sparkled with light as she smiled with perfect lips. Her clothes were simple, and random, as if she had just thrown anything on: a white off-shoulder top, paired with a tie-dyed maxi skirt and knotted bracelets on her wrists. It was a look that on just about anyone else would have looked messy, but on her it looked effortless and absolutely gorgeous.

Her dread only grew when she saw the face Jason was making as he looked at her: it was that of a person completely infatuated with something. And honestly, if he was, she couldn't blame him, for this girl was so beautiful, and not only that, but she looked completely natural – without a superficial bone in her body – and even without speaking to her, she could already tell that she was a good person. The sparkle in her eyes, and the gentle look on her face made it obvious. The final thing was, that she too had the same expression on her face when she looked at Jason as he did towards her.

She could feel her heart cracking, slowly breaking, as if someone was pushing a dull blade into it, as slowly as possible. Her chest ached in pain, but she gritted her teeth, holding back the tears that threatened to overflow, and smiled at the approaching pair.

When they arrived at the table, Jason sat down once more, the girl taking a seat beside him, and her companion next to her on her side. "Reyna, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Piper." Jason said with a wide smile on his face, the type she had never seen before on his face, but now because of this girl… _Wait. Girlfriend?_

 _Girlfriend. She's his girlfriend._ These words echoed in her mind, drowning out all other sound as the previous cracks widened at the speed of lightning, her heart shattering into a million little pieces of glass. She felt hot tears welling up, but she gulped, keeping them back. She was so distraught, so betrayed, so completely devastated that she hardly heard his next words over the ringing in her ears.

"We've been dating for two weeks now, and I wanted to introduce her to you, because you're my best friend." Best friend, she thought bitterly. That's all I'll ever be. However, somehow, with inhuman effort, she was able to nod at his statement and smile, greeting the beautiful girl – Piper. She smiled back, her kaleidoscope eyes contained a hint of pity and understanding. Great, even she noticed, and I've only known her for a minute.

"And him, you already know." She was shaken from her haze of pain by these strange words. She followed Jason's pointed gaze to the person sat beside her.

It was him.

For a moment, she forgot everything. Her heartbreak, her pain, her worries as she stared into those warm chocolate brown eyes, glinting with mischief with a hint of sadness. Her breath hitched, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe, or move. For what seemed like forever, but was only a second – like always – she simply stared at him, drinking in his face. Although, she had already memorized every detail of it from their short glances, she hungrily devoured it with her eyes.

Then, suddenly, becoming aware of what she was doing, she averted her eyes, suddenly very interested in the wood of the table. "Hi." He simply said, breaking out into that signature grin. She couldn't see it, but she knew it was there. "I'm Leo."

 _Leo._

The name filled her heart with warmth, making her forget the soul crushing hurt she had felt only a moment ago. "Reyna." She returned, still not looking at him. He remained silent after that. Probably he too, like she, felt that they shouldn't look at one another, or speak any more than necessary in order to preserve that special thing they had. One glance. Only One glance.

The other two had been watching this exchange, perplexed, but now started up a conversation. Seeing them together, smiling, laughing, happy; knowing she could never make him smile and laugh like that brought all the pain crashing back ten times worse. Once again, she felt as though she was being slowly stabbed with a blunt blade. It was almost physically painful.

With some miracle, she was able to get through the full two hours that they sat together, smiling and even talking a little – but never to him. Even he chipped in every so often, with a sarcastic comment or cracking a joke, seemingly enjoying the company and conversation, but casting her concerned looks every so often. She couldnt see them, but she felt his eyes on her, and felt the emotion pouring towards her. Maybe it had been his constant, soft drumming on the table that had allowed her to remain calm and reassured her. By that point, she could completely understand why Jason had fallen for Piper. She was absolutely perfect; she was beautiful, with this don't care attitude, and she was one of the nicest people she had even met, with a beautiful voice. Despite all of this, she couldn't bring herself to like her, however, the worst thing was, she couldn't bring herself to hate her either. Instead, she hated herself for being so stupid and arrogant.

* * *

As soon as the couple had left, she ran out of the café, fleeing that infernal place, running. She ran; she didn't know where, she just ran, her feet carrying her along, as the pain in her chest escalated. She thought she heard footsteps following her, but she was too broken to care.

When she finally stopped, she looked up and saw that she had come to her café. Her safe place, her sanctuary. Without hesitation, she entered the cozy room, the bell jangling, welcoming her, but now it sounded sorrowful and melancholy. Thankfully, it was pretty empty, even the barista was dozing off, his head resting on the counter.

That was when the pain reached the bursting point. Just as she heard the bell jingle a second time, she threw herself down on a couch and sobbed. She felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her, holding her as she cried out all her sorrow, her pain, her heartache. Without even looking up, she could tell it was him. Just his presence, the constant, comforting warmth that enveloped her, made her feel a little better.

She didn't know how long they simply sat there, him holding her as she let it all out, but it was a long time. She felt safe in his arms, as if nothing and no one could ever reach her or hurt her, and eventually, she felt well enough to stop the waterfall of tears. Slowly, her body stopped shaking, and the tears dried up. Her heart still felt crushed, just a lot less so than before.

Painfully, she extracted herself from his embrace, not wanting to give up his warmth. She glanced up at him once, knowing full well her eyes were red and puffy, and that she looked awful. On his face, she saw a smile filled with melancholy sadness, and his eyes twinkling with sorrow. Like always, she turned away immediately, but his face that she glimpsed then broke her heart more than anything before; however, at the same time, it made her heart race out of control, wanting him to be happy.

Suddenly, seeing his face, she felt an overwhelming wave of guilt and selfishness. She wanted to say something, anything, tell him it will be okay. However, she remained silent, and simply waited, as his footsteps retreated, and the woeful jangle of the bell sounded.

That was when the barista jerked awake abruptly, his black hair a complete mess. "Hey, are you alright?" He enquired, his sea green eyes boring into her. "I'm fine." She snapped, sniffing, and stalked out of the shop, the ghost of the bell ringing in her ears as she walked home.

* * *

The next day, she still went to the café, at the same time, at Jason's shift. She was unsure why, because, it just tore open the gaping wound in her heart again; however, she knew that she had to get over him, and she couldn't avoid him if she wanted to be able to do that.

He greeted her, and she returned the greeting with a fake smile plastered on her face. "So what did you think of Piper?" He enthused. "She's an amazing person, and you two are perfect together." She forced out quickly, as she took her seat. "That's good." He said, drifting off into some daydream. The thing was, what she had told him had not been lie. While it broke her heart to say it, she had meant every word. She just couldn't bring herself to hate or feel any anger towards either of them. They were innocent, and both such nice people. Instead, she was angry at herself.

As she read her latest book, she waited for the familiar bell and the tapping on the counter. However, it never came that day, nor the next, and the next. It had been a week, and he hadn't come to the café once. She found herself thinking about him more and more every day, her focus gradually slipping, so much so that she could no longer concentrate on her book. Though still, every day she would glance up from her book once. Only once. Hoping to see him standing there, grinning at her.

She would remember the sound his footsteps would make on the floor of the café, the sound of his voice as he ordered his plain black coffee, the comforting noise of his fingers tapping the counter and his feet bouncing on the ground. She would remember the faint smell of grease he gave off from the stains on his scruffy clothes, his wild, curly hair that never stayed in place, the cute, impish features of his latino elf face. She would remember the way he looked at her with the mischievous, yet sad glint in his eyes and that lopsided grin when their eyes met for that one glance.

Yet most of all, she remembered the way her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her, how her heart would race when he smiled at her, how her heart would leap when she heard the bell, followed by his footsteps.

She realised, that where Jason had made her heart flutter, he made it race, where Jason had made her blush, he took her breath away, and most importantly, where she had thought Jason was perfect, she knew he was not. She knew he was not perfect, but where Jason had made her feel fluttery and warm, he made her feel like she had run a marathon and like she was burning up in an ocean of flames.

 _I wonder if you remember about me the things I remember about you?_

* * *

It had been a week and a day since he had stopped coming. Like always, she read her book, sipping her cup of hot chocolate. Jason had gone into the back for something since there was no business, and her while she appeared to be reading, her mind was occupied by him.

Out of habit, at the time when she always would, she gave a fleeting glance in the direction of the counter, knowing there would be no one there, she still did it, holding onto some small shred of hope.

There, her eyes were met with a pair of dark brown eyes like melted chocolate, twinkling with mischief and trouble; this time, the sadness was gone, replaced with joy. His grin was not lopsided like always, but full and radiant, sparkling with happiness. Out of instinct, she immediately looked away, allowing herself only one glance.

One glance. That was all. That was all she was ever allowed. That was their unspoken sacred rule.

However, this time, she broke that rule. She looked back up.

There stood Leo. Still watching her, eyes twinkling and grinning.

Disregarding every unspoken rule they had established over the months, she tossed her book aside and placed the drink down, jumping up and flinging herself at him.

A feeling of euphoric ecstasy flooded her chest, joy exploding in a burst - a firework of happiness as she was wrapped into his embrace. Her heart leapt and pounded erratically, not at all perfect, and enveloping her in fire, but that was exactly how she liked it.

Pulling away a little, although still in his arms, she looked up at his face. For the first time, not for only a second, but for five, twenty, forty, a minute… Slowly, she began to lean forward, towards his face; he did the same, their eyes drifting closed as their lips finally met. They kissed. His lips were soft, and tasted just like she had expected – bitter – a taste she had always hated, but now loved more than any other flavour. The kiss was short, but sweet, with every single one of their emotions poured into it. When she pulled away, she knew, that he too, like her was in love with the other. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest as he wrapped her in a hug once again, so tight she thought he would never let her go. And she didn't mind that.

"You finally looked back." He whispered into her hair, his voice filled with love and overflowing joy. "It won't be just one glance from now on." She replied with a smile.

* * *

 **A/N Thank you very much for reading my story. If you could review, it would mean a lot. :)**


End file.
